TEL AVIV, Israel — An uproar continued Sunday after the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said Israel has a right to much of the Middle East, as more Arab and Muslim countries objected and the U.S. said his comments were taken out of context.
Huckabee spoke in an interview with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson that aired Friday. Carlson said that according to the Bible, the descendants of Abraham would receive land that today would include much of the Middle East, including parts of modern-day Jordan, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. He quoted from Genesis Chapter 15 and asked Huckabee if Israel had a right to that land.
Huckabee responded: ''It would be fine if they took it all.''
A spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy said Sunday that Huckabee's comments were taken out of context and that there is no change to U.S. policies on Israel.
In the interview, Huckabee added: ''They're not asking to go back and take all of that, but they are asking to at least take the land that they now occupy, they now live in, they now own legitimately, and it is a safe haven for them.'' He added that Israel isn't trying to take over Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, or Iraq but is trying to protect its own people.
Condemnation by Arab countries
A joint statement Sunday by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Syria, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, the Palestinian Authority and several Arab governing bodies called Huckabee's remarks ''dangerous and inflammatory'' and ones that endanger the region's stability.
''These statements directly contradict the vision put forward by U.S. President Donald J. Trump … based on containing escalation and creating a political horizon for a comprehensive settlement that ensures the Palestinian people have their own independent state,'' the statement said.
